Robert De Niro, 81, makes rare comments about trans daughter Airyn, 29, he had with ex Toukie Smith

Daily Mail​

05-06-2025

Robert De Niro, 81, has made rare comments about his transgender daughter Airyn De Niro, 29.
'As long as they're not hurting themselves, doing anything that's destructive or anything like that, you have to support them. Period,' the Goodfellas star said.
The New Yorker made his comments to Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday when at the world premiere of Billy Joel: And So It Goes presented on the opening night of the Tribeca Festival, at the Beacon Theatre in New York City.
He had on a gray suit while his partner Tiffany Chen, 46, with whom he has a baby, modeled a black dress with a sheer corset top as she had on ombre yellow sunglasses.
De Niro shares Airyn and her twin brother Julian, 29, with actress Toukie Smith, 72. The pair dated from 1988 to 1996.
Airyn came out as a trans woman in an interview with Them published in April.
In April De Niro said he 'loves and supports' Airyn, whom is one of his seven children.
'I loved and supported Aaron as my son, and now I love and support Airyn as my daughter,' the Oscar winner said in a statement.
'I don't know what the big deal is ... I love all my children,' the cinema icon added of Airyn, who began hormone therapy last year.
His words of support come after Airyn did an extensive interview about her coming out journey to a prominent gay, lesbian and trans magazine.
Airyn discussed how she hopes to serve as a role model for queer women of color creating their own definition of beauty.
She sat down with Them contributor Ava Pauline Emilione at a cafe in Williamsburg, New York, to talk about everything from her favorite video game, to her new pink locks, to growing up as the daughter of one of the world's most famous actors.
'Not only did they get information wrong about me…They just sort of reminded me that people really don't know anything about me,' she began.
She also talked about her parents.
'Obviously no parent is perfect, but I am grateful that both my parents agreed to keep me out of the limelight. They wanted it very private,' she said.
'They have told me they wanted me to have as much of a normal childhood as possible.'
She then addressed deciding to begin hormone therapy / transition in November 2024.
'Trans women being honest and open, especially [in] public spaces like social media and getting to see them in their success… I'm like, you know what? Maybe it's not too late for me,' she noted.
'Maybe I can start.'
And there was a reason she wanted to address her gender identity.
'There's a difference between being visible and being seen,' Airyn says. 'I've been visible. I don't think I've been seen yet.'
On not feeling accepted by the queer community after coming out as a gay man in high school: '[Gay men were] ruthless and mean. I didn't even fit that beauty standard, which is thin, white, muscular, or just super fit, masculine,' Airyn says.
'I was always told I was too much of something or not enough of something growing up: Too big, not skinny enough. Not Black enough, not white enough. Too feminine, not masculine enough. It was never just, "You're just right, just the way you are."'
Hormone therapy in November 2024 helped.
'I think a big part of [my transition] is also the influence Black women have had on me,' she says.
'I think stepping into this new identity, while also being more proud of my Blackness, makes me feel closer to them in some way.'
On learning to embody joyful, defiant womanhood from her mother: 'Whenever I'm at a family gathering on my dad's side, people would always talk about how much they love my mom and how memorable she was and how happy my dad was when he was with her,' Airyn says.
'I want to be like that…I want to be remembered the way that people remember her.'
'The way [my mom] would conduct or hold herself, the way that I saw her interact with others in public when I was younger, I see myself emulating that in some way,' Airyn says.
'Whether it's just turning on the charm or not putting on a mask, but wanting to be feminine in a way that's inviting and warm and welcoming.'
She does not like to be called a 'nepo baby.'
'I wasn't brought up having a side part in one of dad's movies or going to business meetings or attending premieres. My dad was very big on us finding our own sort of path,' Airyn says. 'I would want [success] to happen on my own merit.'
'I had two auditions for this video game, League of Legends,' she shared.
'It's one of the biggest video games I play all the time with friends. I was like, "Oh my God. That'd be so cool. It would be a make-it-or-break-it moment for me." Obviously it didn't happen. I was like, "What's the point?' It's the really big auditions that you're like, "F**k, this could have been life-changing, but it just I wasn't the right fit." And sometimes it's hard to not internalize that.'
And she hopes to be a superstar.
'I want queer people of color and bigger-bodied people to have an Alex Consani. I want queer people of color and bigger-bodied people to have a Hunter Schafer,' she shared.
'A part of me has always wanted to model and sort of follow my mom's footsteps. Honestly, if I could be on the cover of Vogue with her or recreating one of her pictures, that would be a dream come true.'
She also addressed mental health.
'People of color and queer people definitely need more mental health advocacy and support. So I'm hoping I'm able to do that,' she stated, adding, 'The field originally was so catered to white cis hetero men — what they deem as wrong or right or mentally ill or whatever, that is from their lens.'
And she wants people to understand her pain of growing up.
'I wish people saw someone who is trying their hardest to heal from growing up not feeling good about themselves,' she said. '[And] in the process of that, trying to make other people feel good about themselves.'
Smith and De Niro conceived their twins by in vitro fertilization and they were delivered via surrogate.
The former couple began dating after his divorce from Diahnne Abbott. They were together for approximately eight years.
While appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in 2020, the Hollywood legend spoke candidly about raising his biracial children.
'My children are all half black and I don't have, even me, I take certain things for granted,' De Niro admitted.
He continued: 'When people say that they tell their kids, "Keep your hands [out] when you're stopped by any cops, keep your hands on the steering wheel, don't make a sudden move, don't put your hands below, don't do this," you understand that.'
'That's scary. That has to change,' he stated, referencing the conversation around referring to police brutality following George Floyd's death. 'Anybody who hurts another person for no reason other than self-defense or the defense of other people around shouldn't be doing that job.'
That same year, De Niro reflected on whether his kids feel pressured to follow in his footsteps.
'For my kids, I tell them, "If you want to be an actor or you want to do this or that, that's fine as long as you're happy,"' he told People. 'Just don't sell yourself short. That's the most I would say — push yourself a little more and reach for what you really think it is you want to do. Don't be afraid.'
He continued: 'It's important for them to find their own lane.'
De Niro is also the father of daughter Drena, 53, and son Raphael, 48, whom he shares with his ex-wife, Diahnne. The actor is also father to son Elliot, 27, and daughter Helen Grace, 13, with ex-wife, Grace Hightower.